Gerry Faust

There was an 18-second gap in Gerry Faust's judgment Saturday, when Notre Dame lost to Air Force, 21-15, that provides as good an example as any of his ineffectiveness as coach of the Fighting Irish. That was the amount of time remaining in the first half after the clock had been stopped to move the chains because of a Notre Dame first down at the Air Force 41. If you were the coach, what would your strategy be in that case?

It is the fall of 1991, and the opening week of the college football season will include what has come to be known as the Buckeye rivalry--Ohio State vs. Akron. Sounds farfetched? Perhaps, but the University of Akron's athletic department has big plans and high hopes for its gridiron future. Though the trend in collegiate football is to downgrade operations by cutting budgets and moving to conferences where the overall competition is less fierce, Akron is heading in the other direction.

At Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Coach Gerry Faust and his players drew thousands of people to home games to watch the nation's most dominant prep football team play. Later, when Faust was at Notre Dame, a stadium crowd of at least 59,000 was guaranteed--regardless of the opponent. Nowadays Faust is lucky if he can get one-third of the seats filled at the Rubber Bowl, home to his University of Akron Zips.

Gerry Faust's comment (Morning Briefing, Feb. 23) on his salary at Notre Dame deserves comment. Faust, comparing his "paltry" salary ($70,000) at Akron University to his earnings at Notre Dame, stated that while at Notre Dame he worked "14- to 16-hour days, seven days a week all but Christmas Day and a couple of weeks in June and it figured out to $2 to $3 an hour." Based on my calculations (350 work days multiplied by 16 hours a day multiplied by $3 an hour) Faust is trying to imply that his annual earnings at Notre Dame were under $17,000.

Gerry Faust, football coach at the University of Akron, has received a three-year extension of his original five-year contract. The former Notre Dame coach has a 22-21-1 record in four seasons with the Zips.

It turns out that the NCAA television ban against USC this season was a blessing in disguise. Because of it, the hapless Trojans are spared the embarrassment on national TV. Some people have begun calling Ted Tollner the Gerry Faust of the West. I won't, as I don't wish to insult Mr. Faust. BARRY CATLETT North Hollywood

Gerry Faust, football coach at the University of Akron, has received a three-year extension of his original five-year contract. The former Notre Dame coach has a 22-21-1 record in four seasons with the Zips.

Gerry Faust applauded Lou Holtz, his successor as Notre Dame coach, after the top-ranked Fighting Irish claimed the national championship with a Fiesta Bowl victory over West Virginia. "I was really happy for the kids and Notre Dame and for Lou," Faust said after the Irish won, 34-21, Monday night in Tempe, Ariz. "Lou did a heck of a job and did very well. I was really happy for them."

One state and a football world away from South Bend, Ind., Gerry Faust sits in his office in Akron, Ohio, and worries over how to guide his University of Akron Zips to victories over Cal State Fullerton, New Mexico State and Temple. Three years ago, the end of Faust's troubled 5-year tenure at Notre Dame was marked by a 58-7 loss to Miami in his final game, days after he had announced his resignation. Two Saturdays ago, Notre Dame's 31-30 victory over the Hurricanes, then ranked No.

Jay Gruden threw for 258 of his 357 yards in the first half as Howard Schnellenberger's Louisville team broke open a close game with 21 second-quarter points Saturday and went on to beat Akron, coached by Gerry Faust, 31-10. Gruden, who completed 12 of 24 passes for his 258 yards in the half, finished with 24 completions in 41 attempts. He was intercepted 3 times. Louisville improved to 3-4-1 in its last home game of the season. Akron fell to 2-6.

The University of Akron athletic department is already $585,000 over budget this school year because of overspending on the football program and lower than expected game attendance, school officials said. The overspending is attributed partly to the university's efforts to move to a higher division of competition since Gerry Faust, former Notre Dame coach, was hired a year ago. The university's six-month financial report showed the athletic department spent $585,306 more than the $1.

The University of Akron needs to have a big recruiting year if the Zips are going to be competitive once they move up to NCAA Division I-A, says football Coach Gerry Faust. But the NCAA has not yet acted on Akron's request for a waiver that will allow Faust to recruit on an equal basis with other Division I-A colleges. Faust said the NCAA is moving carefully because Akron would be the first school to advance from I-AA to I-A. "The thing is, schools usually go the other way.

Junior Don Vesling kicked a 20-yard field goal with 1:09 remaining to lift Eastern Michigan to a 24-21 victory over Akron in a nonconference college football game Saturday night. The defeat was the first for Coach Gerry Faust after two victories. Faust took over the Akron program this season after coaching at Notre Dame for five seasons.

It is the fall of 1991, and the opening week of the college football season will include what has come to be known as the Buckeye rivalry--Ohio State vs. Akron. Sounds farfetched? Perhaps, but the University of Akron's athletic department has big plans and high hopes for its gridiron future. Though the trend in collegiate football is to downgrade operations by cutting budgets and moving to conferences where the overall competition is less fierce, Akron is heading in the other direction.